Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Re: Cultural Consistency

[Gayle Koszegi (gayle]

> 
>  We had a Jewish couple come out for a tour about a month ago or so.  
> After the tour they indicated that they would not be interested. When 
> asked why they said: "There aren't any other Jewish people here."

This is similar to the example you (or someone) gave of a black family
feeling uncomfortable in an all-white community, or vice-versa.
Differences are a valid concern if the <way the person is different>
is a primary part of their self-definition.  I am not a blonde, but I
would not be uncomfortable in a mostly-blonde community because my
non-blondeness is not part of my self-identity.  I would, however,
feel uncomfortable in a mostly-bigoted community, since I strongly
self-identify as a non-bigot.  (Uh oh, am I bigoted against bigots?
:-) )

Looking back over this, I see that perceived external identity could
also be a strong determining factor.  You (or whoever gave that
example) might not see your whiteness as a main part of who you are,
but you might perceive that others (in this case, the folks in the
all-black community) see that as part of who you are, and so still
feel uncomfortable in that situation.
 
> I just learned of a forming cohousing group who are all Lutheran.  They 
> want to live together as an expression of their religious values and 
> see the cohousing model perfectly fitting what they want to do.

This sounds reasonable to me: their Lutheranness is a primary part of
what they want their shared lives to be about.  It is a shared value
for them.  I wish them well.

But I would guess that many communities would prefer more diversity
of religions.  This is fine, too.  Those communities are formed with
values other than common religious beliefs.


Gayle
(Future prospective co-housing participant)